Forever Darkness
by Princess Joy
Summary: The Abbe is trapped, trapped in a dark tower, kept hidden away from the world. Will he get out with the help of a strange girl?...please R&R and enjoy!
1. Chapter 1 - Entry into Darkness

It started with me staring up at the night sky, it was an inky, velvet blue, starless but cloudy. The clouds hung above like something terrible was going to happen, a storm perhaps. Slowly my gaze wandered downwards, surveying the landscape - a small, rocky mountain on which resided a few dead trees and rough patches of coarse grass and weeds. The centrepiece of this mountain though was a crumbling castle, crumbling yet still very much there. It dominated the landscape like a looming dread, dark and craggy, with crude gargoyles carved out of grey stone on top of the four towers that spiralled off into the dark sky guarding against who knows what with the darkness that seemed to seep out of every crack and opening. I started walking towards this castle, it was very far away though the journey seemed to have lasted shorter than it should have, so in no time I was there standing in front of the giant entrance which had lost its door long ago. I peered through the archway to a courtyard that was devastatingly empty and bare and it almost seemed that the short trip up there had been a waste of time. I felt as if I should be there though, but then at the same time I felt a fear that made me want to turn away, but I knew I wouldn't and couldn't. Everything was silent, no noise came from anywhere except for me. My footsteps that echoed as I continued onwards through the archway and up some worn stone steps that climbed the left side of the courtyard, and then through the dark door at the top of them. My breath that came out in soft blasts, surrounding the air by my lips with a small fog. Once through the door I entered a damp corridor that had several locked doors going off in all directions. I kept on walking up the corridor until I came to a door that was open although, yet again, it was dark inside with only one candle lighting it. The candle cast its glow over the table that it was sitting on and also a small piece of paper that was yellow by the candle-light and curled very slightly at the edges. Naturally nosey or just compelled to take a look at the paper, I don't know, but I went over and lifted the candle up to take a closer look. I picked the paper up and replaced the candle back on the table. The paper had nothing on, but I turned it over a few times to check that I hadn't missed anything or just something. There really was nothing, no small red flower like in 'The Scarlet Pimpernel', no writing, no ink, nothing. So consumed in inspecting the paper I was, that I didn't see the figure sitting on the chair opposite me in the shadows, or the other silhouettes of men that were behind me. I felt something brush my neck and a chill ran through me. Again something else brushed past my arm and I threw the paper up in the air letting it flutter slowly to the ground. It was then that I saw the figure on the chair and it was then that I realised I would surrounded by creatures, not men. My heart was beating faster and I was shaking slightly so I could hear my breath coming out in ragged little gasps. The figure on the chair got up and walked into the light. "We've been expecting you to show up." He said quietly. It was a man with straight, greasy black hair that came down to his shoulders and as he looked at me I noticed his crystal blue eyes, cold, and slightly sinister. He was dressed from head to toe in black, all except for an off-white shirt that he wore under a black jacket. Black boots, black breeches, and extremely pale skin which all added to the eerie vibe that he gave off. "Who are you?" I whispered on an outbreath, still looking at his eyes. "You don't need to know my name." He said. "That will come later." "Later?" I asked nervously as he paced around me in a somewhat predatory way. He gave a small laugh. "Don't play the fool with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Otherwise you would not have come here. Or." he stood directly in front of me as he said this. "Have you come to see the priest?" he sneered the word priest as if it was something dirty or unwanted. The creatures behind me sniggered at this. Their laughter sounding like harsh, throaty coughs. "Uh." I didn't know what to answer, but the presence of these people was extremely threatening. "What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" the man hissed, and as he did this I noticed his eye-teeth, they were fangs like that of a beast, or perhaps a vampire. I gasped and this set the creatures off laughing again. I tried to back away but a wall blocked any chance of exit I had, and now the creatures, beasts, or whatever the hell they were, were flanking me. This was when I realised that there were only two of them, although I was pretty certain that before there had been more. Unless their laughter had echoed off the walls of this room. They were odd looking beings, like fierce dogs or hyenas, stood on their back legs, red eyes and saliva foaming at the side of their mouths and flying off in all directions as they laughed still. As the vampire started advancing upon me, slowly as if he were enjoying my fear, a small smile creeping onto his lips, I looked around for an exit. Somewhere, anywhere. I saw the doorway through which I had entered beckoning me, wanting me to run towards it. And who was I to refuse a welcome like that. I ran towards it knocking the vampire backwards with my flailing arms and the creatures followed me out back into the dark corridor. I ran and ran with the creatures following me still, breathing heavily and not stopping until I came to another open door. This time the room had a welcoming fire and a man sitting on a wooden chair in front of the fire, facing away from me. I could no longer hear the beasts at my heels as I entered the room, breathless and afraid for my life, I quickly closed the door after me. I was still afraid and I still felt that my life was in danger, but the fiends that had plagued me before were no longer there and my fear felt a little irrational. In the few minutes it took me to get my breath back the man in the chair didn't move, he didn't turn to see who had invaded his space, he just sat with his head in his hands. I got the feeling somehow that he wasn't a threat to me and I walked a few steps in his direction before stopping and observing him in silence until I could bear it no more. "Excuse me." I said quietly, the sound feeling so loud in the still silence of the room. The man got up with a start, I couldn't figure out why he hadn't heard me slam the door shut when I came in, why he only noticed me when I spoke to him. He turned to face me. He was wearing a long black cassock that hugged his upper body and a white shirt underneath that only showed around his wrists and neck, peeping up around the collar. I had a sneaking suspicion he was the priest the vampire had so scornfully mentioned. He was young, in his twenties and quite handsome. He had short, wavy, dark brown hair and beautiful dark green eyes, and when he saw me an expression filled with worry and concern came over his face. "Who are you?" he asked me, not moving from where he was standing. "I'm sorry." I said, my voice shaking, once again afraid lest he cast me out into the hallway again. "They were chasing me and I had nowhere else to go. I need your help. You are the priest, aren't you?" His face changed, a small, friendly smile played upon his lips. "Yes my child." He said, reaching a hand out towards me. An uneasy feeling came over me and I felt inclined to tell him why I had chanced upon him, so I explained to him what had happened from where I was standing and when I had finished he bowed his head slightly and laced his fingers together and started pacing by the fire. "This is not good." He said finally and beckoned for me to come closer. I did so and noticed that he had a small scar that cut into his top lip. "Am I doomed?" I asked him, looking for some reassurance on the matter. He put a hand to his head as if he were troubled greatly. "I believe so. No one has encountered those." he paused as he searched for a suitable word. "Things." He said finally, the distain obvious in his voice. "I try to see good in everything, but in those monsters there is no good, only evil. They are the devils work, I am afraid that they are searching for you even now." "Oh god." I breathed out, I saw him flinch as I blasphemed. "I'm sorry." I said quickly, glancing at him and then the floor. He gave a small smile. "That is quite alright." I looked at the fire, the flames eating up the wooden logs that lay at the bottom, and the glowing embers at the edge. Then a thought came to me. "Why do they leave you alone?" I asked suspiciously. If he was a vampire or hell-beast too I really was doomed. "I do not know." He said. "I have been trying to figure that out for quite a while, that was what I was thinking about when you arrived." "Oh. Maybe they can't touch you." I said, thinking about it. "Maybe you're too good for them. Maybe you're too close to God." I said with a smile wishing for the life of me that I was immune as this priest. I didn't want to die, I don't want to die. He didn't answer me, but seemed to be considering the things that I had said. I looked towards the door imagining the creatures to be lurking outside in the corridor, how the hell had I lost them? There was no way that I could have been faster than them, maybe they were just really stupid. "Isn't there some way we can get out of here? You do want to leave don't you?" I asked him. The Priest shrugged and sighed. "I've tried before but I always seem to end up back in this room." He said gesturing to the space around him. "Well, why don't you try with me? When is it daybreak? Vampires can't go out in daylight we can get out then. I promise you we will get out." I said, noticing for the first time that the room didn't have a window. His eyes sparkled with hope and he gave me a small smile. "Alright." He said. "I will go with you." I smiled right back at him and then there came a rapping on the door. It was sharp and insistent. "Abbe!" I moved closer to the Priest as I recognised the voice as being that of the Vampire. "Abbe! Is that girl with you?" the Vampire growled and the latch began to be turned in the door.  
  
To be continued. 


	2. Chapter 2 - Trapped with the Abbe

The Priest darted towards the door and leaned on I with his full weight while trying to lock it.  
"No!" he called out.  
"Why are you locking the door Abbe? Are you lying?" the Vampire said fiercely and the thick wooden door rattled as he tried to open it with force.  
"No!" he called out again, finally locking the door. "I would appreciate it if you leave me alone while I'm praying."  
I heard a small, evil laugh from outside the door. "Praying! Ha! To what? That god of yours that you so fervently believe in."  
"Yes! Leave me be." said the Priest and he stepped away from the door and came back towards me putting a finger to his lips.  
"Fine. But I will be back." The Vampire said in an assuring and somewhat threatening tone.  
He left silently, at least I'm assuming he left because I breathed out a huge sigh of relief and the Abbe started talking.  
"I cannot do that every time." He said and again looked troubled as he ran his fingers through his hair.  
"Well, we have to get out of here. We're going to get out of here." I said and nodded firmly.  
I looked around the fairly bare room. "Do you have any belongings?" I asked the Abbe.  
He shook his head slowly and gestured to himself, "I own only the clothes you see upon me here."  
I bit my lip and smiled as I looked at him. "Okay, I suppose it's only a waiting game now. In a few hours we should get moving and get out of here without that fiend lurking in the corridors and banging on the door. He must go and rest sometime, although I'm not to sure about those hell-beasts. I'm pretty sure that's what they are, but then, they must sleep some time too." I said frowning.  
I walked to the nearest wall and sat down and leaning against it and hugging my knees. "I don't even know how I got here." I said quietly, wondering how the hell I had actually got there.  
The Abbe kneeled down beside me and glanced down at the floor before looking at me. "I don't know how I got here either, my child."  
I gave him a flash of a smile and sighed. "Call me Jeanne. My name is Jeanne. I know that at least." I said the determination of my last few declarations fading in a very few seconds.  
So for the next few hours we sat in waiting and talked about all kinds of things, and when I felt that it should be light because when I had entered the castle in the darkness of night when there was no sign of morning or of there ever being light in the barren place seemed such a long time before.  
  
I pushed myself up, holding the wall for support. My legs were stiff as I had been sitting in the same position for a number of hours and ached when I stood on them.  
I held out a hand to the Abbe who was fiddling nervously with his rosary as I imagined he did in times of trouble. It was good to see that he still had faith after being stuck in the castle for however long he had been there. He took my hand and smiled gratefully as I helped him up.  
We stood together looking at the door, it was me that walked towards it first, the Abbe following closely behind.  
"Give me the key." I whispered, holding out my hand for it.  
"No." he said. "I will do it." He moved past me and unlocked the door with a trembling hand. He was nervous, as was I.  
He quietly lifted the latch and opened the door a crack, poking his head out of it and peering into the dim corridor. He looked back at me. "It's still dark outside." He said, a little confused and closed the door again.  
I shook my head. "It can't be." I said, almost laughing at the absurdity of it. "It's been hours since I arrived."  
I ducked under his arm and opened the door. He was right, it was still dark, I could see through the window at the end of the corridor. The sky was black still and the air in the corridor seemed heavy, but at least none of the creatures were about.  
I ducked back under the Abbe's arm closing the door behind myself.  
"Maybe we should wait a few more hours." I said and stepped away.  
"But is it always going to be dark? That is the question we have to ask ourselves." The Abbe said turning to face me.  
"If it is we should go now." I said and reached for the door. He caught my wrist gently with his hand.  
"Wha...?" I began to speak but he silenced me with a look.  
"Did you hear that?" he whispered.  
I shook my head, but then I heard it. A sniggering, the same harsh noise the hell-beasts had made, coming from the corridor - my heart began to beat faster and I tried to make my breathing silent in case I was heard.  
"Abbe..." came a hissing noise from the corridor.  
'It's one of them' I thought as I stared wide-eyed at the latch, expecting it to burst open any moment and one of those foul creatures to enter, slobbering and baring it's sharp, off-white teeth.  
The Abbe was fingering his rosary again, the beads a little noise as they touched each other.  
"Abbe..." came the voice again, sounding like a whispering steam-train, deep and sinister. "I know you're in there. You have the girl...give her to us."  
I could almost see their red eyes glinting as they had proudly found where their master's prize was.  
The Abbe was looking at the door, the thick wooden door that should have served as some kind of protection but was now only a flimsy barrier between life and death.  
"Abbe...give us the girl and we will tell you how to get out of here..." one of the beasts said, letting the bargain hang in the air for a moment before laughing again.  
I looked at the Abbe, was he going to speak. They knew he was in the room, and it would take just one of them to get inside without much force for they were stronger but by far more stupid than the Vampire and brute force it would be.  
The Abbe swallowed and licked his dry lips, "I...erm..."  
"Yes..." came the raspy reply, urging the Abbe to continue.  
"I cannot do it!" the Abbe said despairingly and leaned on the door with the palms of his hands, looking at the cold, stone below.  
There was a low fierce growling sound from outside the door and something hit the door, it shook violently and the Abbe backed away with a start.  
He was breathing heavily, out of fear I imagined, "What I meant was I cannot do it because I do not know of whom you are talking." He said quickly.  
I heard a few low hisses from behind the door, " We will tell the Master, Abbe" and then there were the scratching sounds of claws upon the stone floor that faded and vanished.  
There was a long silence when neither of us spoke, afraid that the creatures were still there.  
When convinced that they had gone I spoke, "We have to leave now!" I said.  
"Yes, I believe that would be the best option." The Abbe said, nodding slowly as he spoke.  
He opened the door a crack, and again peered out into the corridor. He motioned with his hand for me to follow him and we ventured out together into the maze-like innards of the castle.  
  
Not wanting to go past the room where I had first encountered the Vampire and his hell-beasts for fear that they were waiting somewhere near there I persuaded the Abbe to try a different route in the opposite direction. My mistake.  
Very soon we were lost and at any moment I expected to turn a corner and find the room that we had left as the Abbe had done before.  
"I think we're lost." I whispered to the Abbe holding onto his arm, and feeling the rough fabric of his cassock under my fingers.  
He turned to face me. It was so dark that I could barely see his face, only shadows of his features and his eyes shining slightly in what little light there was.  
We were so close that I could feel his warm breath upon my face as he talked. "Yes, it does appear to be that way." He said.  
"Well, at least there's something positive about this. We aren't back in the room with those creatures baying at the door." I whispered and gave a small laugh, feeling slightly liberated to at least be out of the room.  
Even in the dim light I saw a small smile cross his face, but he quickly replaced it with a look of seriousness. "I think we should sit here and rest a while. At least if we are not moving we cannot go back into that room." He said and sat, leaning against the wall.  
I sat next to him. "Let's just hope that those dogs don't find us here."  
"That is a good point, but it wouldn't do for us to be so tired that we cannot run if we do chance upon them." He said, making a very good point.  
"Alright." I said sighing and resting my head upon the cold stone.  
Again the castle was silent but for the sounds of our breathing, the sky was dark and still - the feeling of impending doom still hung in the air, waiting for the right moment to erupt and shatter everything to pieces.  
In the distance I heard a howling and instinctively backed up against the stone, tense, rigid and listening out for more sounds.  
The Abbe had already stood up and pulled me up after him. "We should move now."  
I followed him again, this time holding onto the skirt of his cassock, he walked swiftly and I didn't want to lose him in the dark.  
After a short while we came to a flight of stairs that led downwards, the Abbe stopped at the top of these.  
"Go on." I whispered, urging him to descend the narrow stairway.  
"I don't know what lies at the bottom of these." He said refusing to move.  
"We don't know what lies around every corner we turn." I said moving so that I was in front of him at the top of the stairs. "I shall go alone if you do not wish to come."  
He moved past me and I held onto his arm as he ascended the uneven steps.  
The stairway was longer than I had anticipated and wound round in a downward spiral until I wondered when it would in fact end, or whether the Abbe and I would be stuck forever walking down, down, down. 


	3. Chapter 3 - The Bed of Satin

The stairway, however, did end, and there was a surprise at the bottom.  
It seemed that we hand found the Vampire's main haunt. A room of considerable size and grandeur.  
It was lavishly decorated with deep crimson silks and off-white lace, all the furniture was made out of dark mahogany wood with intricate patterns etched into it - chests, mirrors, and a large four-poster bed on the end of which lay a coffin with gold strips incorporated into the design - and the room was lit with tall candles whose light played upon the cold stone walls and spilled over everything it touched lighting up the cobwebs and dust that covered all the furniture in a thin film.  
I breathed out a sigh. The room was beautiful in a morbid, gothic way. It didn't look like it had been used for years, yet the candles were alight and there was no stale smell that would have filled my nostrils had it not been touched in a long time.  
I walked forward to take in the atmosphere of the room but the Abbe, who was in front of me standing stock still in awe of the scene suddenly moved. He put his arm in front of me blocking my way. "We cannot stay." He said. "We have to get out of here. This is where he hides when the light comes."  
"But it doesn't look like he's been here in a long time." I said gently pushing his arm aside. "Let's stay and rest a while. I'm tired and you looked pretty fatigued to me."  
I walked forward again and this time he didn't try to stop me, neither did he move from where he stood.  
The room enraptured me, and I was drawn in by its charm and beauty.  
Looking back upon it I think that perhaps there had been a spell in place or a charm that made me think this way, and I moved forward again and ran my hands over the cold wood of the coffin, feeling the contrast of textures with the very tips of my fingers.  
I reached under the lid and lifted it up - that was when the Abbe intervened and slammed the lid shut, I had barely gotten my fingers out of the way in time.  
Startled by this I gave him a wide-eyed look. "Abbe!" I exclaimed.  
"You do not want to get any more involved with this monster than you already are." He said and took both of my hands in his. "Come, let's get out of this room."  
I looked into his beautiful green eyes for a second. "Aren't you just enchanted by this place?" I asked him.  
A small nervous smile flitted across his face as he tried to remain composed. "I think we should leave." He said uncomfortably.  
I took one of my hands away from his. "I like it here." I said gesturing to the surroundings. "I think you're only nervous because you quite like it too and you do not wish to admit it to yourself. Do you enjoy hiding your feelings, Abbe? I know men like you and I have known men like you that try to pretend that they are something that they are not. I know this and yet I have known you only a short time. Be yourself, Abbe. Do not hide under some flimsy façade that you cannot keep up the whole time." the tone of my voice changing from amiable to tinged with viciousness, snapping almost hissing.  
To this he said nothing but dropped my other hand and turned quickly away.  
"What is it?" I asked him impatiently and then realised it was me. "I'm sorry." I said, going back to my usual self.  
Still he did not turn back to face me. I reached out tentatively and touched his shoulder, "Abbe, I said I'm sorry. Really, I am." I said, worried about the effect my words had had on him.  
He turned to face me and to my dismay his eyes were filled with tears as if I had told him some terrible truth and he had no way to hide it. "Oh Abbe!" I was truly appalled at how I had spoken to him, but I believe that I can only half be blamed for saying those things for as I said before - the room seemed to be under some kind of spell.  
He looked so upset, so hurt, and I felt so guilty that I almost wept myself.  
"Forgive me." I said, my voice shaking.  
I put my trembling hand to his face in an attempt to wipe away the tears that I had created with my harsh words, "I think this room is under some sort of curse. Emotions run high in this room. I know that I never would have said those things to you if I wasn't in some way out of my mind."  
He gave a small smile and I relaxed, relieved that he at least was smiling. Then he leaned forward and kissed me on the lips, shocked at first I pulled away gasping. "Abbe!"  
He checked himself and look shocked. "Sorry...sorry...I don't know what came over me." Then he turned and walked out of the room, I tried to run after him but tripped over the hem of my dress and landed on the coffin, banging my knee on the way down. I felt so wretched after that so I sat down on the bed, which disturbed many layers of dust, so at the same time as coughing profusely I wept bitterly.  
I don't know how long I had been weeping, but eventually I began to calm down and instead put my head in my hands and just sat.  
It was then that I felt something, again, a whisper of feeling on my neck, lifting my hair and brushing it aside. I felt a shiver run through me, but not out of fear.  
I turned slowly and came face to face with the Abbe. The tips of his fingers caressed my cheek and he leant in to kiss me. Soft, yet passionate. This time I kissed him back.  
He pushed me gently down on the bed, I went with him, running my fingers through his soft hair and kissing him harder.  
Then, suddenly he pulled away. Seemingly flustered he looked down at me. "Did you hear that?" he whispered.  
I sighed irritably at the interruption. "No." I breathed out.  
He manoeuvred off the bed and took my hand, pulling me with him. "We have to get out of here. It's not safe."  
"It seems safer here than any other room in this god forsaken place." I said standing my ground. And then, as if to contradict me, it was at that moment I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, barely audible, but definitely there. I felt my heart tighten and I tried to silence my breathing, but knew that if the being coming down the stairs was preternatural then I would be heard anyway.  
The Abbe glanced around quickly, looking futilely for a place to hide. His eyes fell upon the large wooden coffin. I shook my head. I was not climbing into a place that small to be trapped for who knew how long.  
"It's the only place." He hissed and quietly opened the lid, revealing the blood red satin interior.  
I shook my head again. I didn't know which choice was worse - having every drop of life forced out of me by a blood-sucking fiend, or spending all eternity in a claustrophobic coffin.  
The Abbe had already pushed me towards the coffin by the time I was protesting, "No, no, no, no, no." I said almost crying.  
"Get in..." he whispered, "Or do you wish to face the alternative? If we're lucky then it's one of those dog-like beasts and it will be gone in no time."  
"You get in first." I said, screwing my hands up into fists and grabbing the material of my dress, trying to squeeze some of the fear out of me.  
The Abbe said nothing, but climbed easily into the coffin - it was not very high off the ground. He tried to cram himself onto one side and held out a helping hand to me. I took it and stepped into the bed of satin, lying down in the tight space next to the Abbe. He pulled down the lid, and once again we were immersed in the darkness that the castle seemed to thrive on.  
There was almost no room to move and there really was no light to see. I could hear the Abbe's breathing loud in my ear and could feel it on my cheek, and I could hear something else outside.   
Something was pacing in the room outside, pacing a breathing heavily. It wasn't the Vampire, he was much too subtle for that, or perhaps that was what he wanted us to think. We didn't move though. I stayed as still as I could, my only movement coming from my chest and then from the Abbe, whose body I could feel behind me.  
From outside there came noises of something moving furniture, ripping the sheets from the bed, tearing the drapes from the walls and knocking over the lighted candles. There were angry snarls and grunts as the creature worked, moving objects out of the way, and I knew it was looking for me and the Abbe.  
The icy fear gripped me like a gauntlet as I cold hear the beast getting closer and closer in its rough, yet effective process of searching.  
I froze as I heard long, talon-like fingers scrape the top of the coffin. Scratching the fine woodwork as the creature walked past. Then it walked back again, sniffing loudly, taking in great lungfuls of air through its nose - I could almost picture it, red eyes narrowed suspiciously, great snout twitching as it smelt something odd, something that shouldn't have been there, thin lips drawn back in a sneer showing dozens of sharp off-white teeth.   
Then I could also picture it grinning grotesquely - it had found its prize at last. 


End file.
